31. Gathering Information

"Hush, keep your voice down. She lives right next door; don't let her hear you," Zhang Xiuhua whispered nervously.

"She’s raising two children all by herself. Are you telling me you can’t find an opening? Get your act together, spend more time around her. Do I really have to teach you how to chase a woman?" Zhang Xiuhua said in a low voice.

"The woman is decent-looking, but those two kids are such an eyesore. If my old buddies found out I was going after a woman with baggage, they’d laugh me to death. Find a way to convince her to dump the kids at an orphanage," Zhang Xiuhua’s son, Yang Chao, replied with impatient disdain.

"Shut your mouth!" Zhang Xiuhua interrupted, frowning. "Do you think things are like they used to be? With your father’s company, you could have had any woman you wanted, but it’s different now. Money can’t buy everything anymore. As for her, just because she’s a doctor, there are plenty of people who would fight to raise those kids. You mark my words," Zhang Xiuhua warned, glaring at Yang Chao.

Yang Chao stiffened his neck and turned away, his face etched with defiance.

"Oh, you stubborn brat. I’m your mother; why would I lie to you? If we dare to say we don't want the kids, you definitely won't stand a chance. But you can't say it outright; you have to do it behind the scenes! There were plenty of missing children in peaceful times, let alone in a situation like this. Just focus on winning her over first; we’ll deal with the kids later." Zhang Xiuhua gestured suggestively toward the walls of the safe zone.

"Then how do I get to her? I don't want to waste too much effort," Yang Chao said impatiently.

"You try getting close to her first. I’ll find opportunities on my end. If that fails, we can always hire someone to sneak into her tent and give her a good scare," Zhang Xiuhua suggested.

Yang Chao’s lips curled into a slow smirk, and he nodded, agreeing to his mother's plan.

She wondered if this conversation had happened in her previous life as well. So, they had been plotting against her from the very moment they met.

Today, Rong Xianxian had heard the entire conversation between the mother and son next door.

Recalling the family who had come rushing over when she knocked down the intruder earlier, their reactions now seemed distinctly suspicious. Yang Chao had initially been suppressing his excitement, but when he saw the battered intruder, his face had turned pale, and his expression had become incredibly unnatural.

Rong Xianxian sneered to herself. Yang Chao was arrogant and ignorant, and Zhang Xiuhua was hypocritical and vicious—what a disgusting family.

Early the next morning, Zhang Xiuhua called out from the entrance of the tent, "Dr. Rong, are you awake?"

Rong Xianxian glanced at her sleeping children, sighed, and went to the entrance. "Is something the matter?"

"Dr. Rong, let me tell you! The hospital in the safe zone is hiring doctors, and the benefits are quite good. Let me take you there to have a look!" Zhang Xiuhua lowered her voice, feigning secrecy.

"No, I need to watch the children," Rong Xianxian refused.

"Dr. Rong, I see you don't have much in the way of supplies. Even if you don't need to collect rations for the next couple of days, what will you do when the food runs out? If all the medical positions are filled by then, won't you have to go work on the construction sites?" Zhang Xiuhua persisted.

"We'll see when the time comes," Rong Xianxian said, turning to leave.

"Dr. Rong, I can help you watch the children. I’m very good with them. You can go to the hospital with peace of mind. We’re old acquaintances, after all," Zhang Xiuhua said, reaching out to grab her.

"I couldn't possibly impose. Children are very difficult to manage, and besides, I don't feel comfortable leaving them," Rong Xianxian said with a bright smile before turning back into her tent.

Watching Rong Xianxian’s retreating back, Zhang Xiuhua stamped her foot in frustration and headed toward the construction site, looking annoyed.

Rong Xianxian took her two children for a stroll around the safe zone, hoping to gather information about the outside world.

She pretended to walk past a group of people chatting casually. "A few days ago, that small team of thirty-something people who went back to Binyang was completely wiped out."

"Wiped out? Who brought back that news?"

"One person who was severely wounded managed to crawl back into the city and was picked up by the military, but unfortunately, he died on the way back," one person said with a sigh.

"With the news cut off like this, families who are all together are fine, but for those working away from home, with their parents, wives, and children back in their hometowns, how can they have any peace of mind? How many people die on the construction sites every day? I heard they only assign outsiders to the outer perimeter."

"Does the military have any news from the outside?"

"No, the vanguard units the military sent out to make contact with nearby cities haven't returned yet."

Rong Xianxian walked and listened the whole way. Thanks to her sharp hearing, as long as she focused, she could hear whatever she wanted.

Lost in her efforts to gather information, she didn't notice the two little tails following her. It wasn't until she walked into her luxury tent that the two people behind her exchanged a look from afar and vanished into the crowd.

Inside a seemingly ordinary tent, a group of people wearing black cloaks sat around a round table. One of them spoke up, "We discovered someone on the Blacklist inside the base today. It’s the woman with two children who is ranked third on the Blacklist."

"I recall that woman wasn't there three days ago. The head of the house is busy with the Misty Secret Realm right now. Who added her, and do they have a warrant from the head?" another cloaked figure asked.

"It was an order from the eldest daughter; she has the head’s warrant," the first speaker replied.

"In that case, follow protocol: whoever discovered her is responsible for carrying out the mission," the person who had just spoken declared.

"Understood. And when will the lost messenger birds be replaced?" The main purpose of their gathering was to discuss the issue of the missing birds.

"It’s hard to say. Almost every group has lost some; it likely has to do with the arrival of the monsters. The birds were probably attacked. Even our communication with the higher-ups is no longer guaranteed." Most noble families had their own unique methods of contact, so even after the signal disruption, they had maintained some connection with various branches.

"Mom, look, Aoao is hungry. Aoao wants roasted meat." As soon as they returned to the tent, Xuanxuan rummaged through her backpack to find Aoao. No one knew how the little girl and the bird communicated, but the bird would chirp, and Xuanxuan would always understand its meaning.

Hearing Xuanxuan mention roasted meat, the bird bobbed its head as if agreeing.

"We agreed that you would be the one to feed it; don't involve me." Rong Xianxian didn't know what was wrong with this bird. The first meal she gave it was roasted meat, and ever since then, it demanded roasted meat for every single meal. Other birds ate seeds and fruits, but this one insisted on meat, and it had to be roasted.

"Mom, I want to eat roasted meat too," Xuanxuan pouted, acting cute.

Looking at Xuanxuan’s pouting face and little Luo’s glittering eyes, Rong Xianxian helplessly gave in.

She zipped the tent shut, took out a small barbecue grill, threaded some meat that had been sliced and thawed, sprinkled on some seasoning, laid out the charcoal, and began to grill.

*Thump.* Next door, Yang Chao kicked over a stool and bolted for the exit.

"Get back here!" Zhang Xiuhua lunged at him, pinning him down with all her might.

"Don't stop me! Why should I have to eat like a pig while she’s having roasted meat?" Yang Chao could already feel himself salivating. The scent was damnably tempting.